The 40 Best Windows 8.1 Apps

Skype

Free
This one is a no brainer. If you want to visit with Grandma without crossing state or national lines, there's no better choice of app and service. When you first run Skype, it will ask permission to use your webcam and to run in the background. I was a little disappointed that the Skype app hadn't implemented the Search charm, so I couldn't use that to find someone among contacts. The new >Skype< does integrate Windows Messenger, however. It’s full-screen view of your video-call partner and good use of the Windows 8 touch interface and notifications are a great start, but you don’t get some Skype for desktop features like multi-party calling and screen sharing.